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8.A. - Page 7 of 15 <br />The City's Cannabis Business Permit is reviewed by the City Manager's Office in conjunction with the <br />Redwood City Police Department and has a long list of requirements for cannabis delivery businesses <br />operating in the City including background checks, security, monitoring, surveillance, and reporting. <br />Staff recommends that retail storefront cannabis businesses be subject to the same City requirements <br />established for non -storefront retail cannabis businesses including 600 foot buffers from certain sensitive <br />receptors such as K-12 schools both public and private, commercial daycare centers, and youth facilities. <br />Question 5: Should retail storefront cannabis business applications be processed using a merit -based <br />application process conducted by staff, or should the City Council be involved in the final decision or any <br />appeal? <br />Cities are granted great discretion in the cannabis business application process. In cities where the <br />numbers of businesses are limited, as is proposed here, it is very common for the cities to use a <br />merit -based application process. Under this process, a series of scoring criteria are set by ordinance or <br />by City Council resolution. If the City Council elects to implement a merit -based application process, staff <br />would evaluate applications according to the scoring criteria and conduct interviews. Staff recommends <br />Option #1 in Table 2 for consideration of cannabis business applications. Table 2 provides other alternatives <br />for the City Council to consider if the City Council would like to have a role in determining application approval <br />or hearing appeals of decisions related to applications. <br />TABLE 2 <br />Option #1 <br />Option #2 Option #3 Option #4 <br />Phase 1- Application Submittal Determination of Eligibility (same for all options) <br />Phase 2 - Application Review Criteria Scoring (HdL) (same for all options) <br />Phase 3 - Interview and Second Ranking (Staff) (same for all options) <br />Phase 4 - Final <br />Phase 4 - Final <br />Phase 4 - Final <br />Phase 4 - Lottery of <br />Determination <br />Determination (City <br />Determination (City <br />Top Applicants <br />(City Manager) <br />Council) <br />Manager) <br />Appeals <br />Appeals (Hearing <br />Appeals (City Council) <br />Appeals (City Council) <br />(Hearing Officer <br />Officer or Law Judge) <br />or Law Judge) <br />It is important to note that merit -based applications are a time intensive process that would require <br />significant staff time and/or resources to set criteria and evaluate applications. Staff recommends using <br />HdL to evaluate applications, with the cost of this service and the cost of staff time being recovered <br />through the business application fee. A merit -based process would increase the cost of the program but <br />also allow for a more timely and efficient. <br />Staff recommends a merit -based application process with the application process managed by HdL, with <br />final determination by the City Manager, and any appeals being decided by a hearing officer or law judge <br />(Option 1). <br />Page 7 of 11 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />160 <br />